I emailed a friend earlier and mentioned how stoked I am for bow hunting to open this weekend. In reply, I recieved a comment about bow hunting being bad because of all the poor deer running around arrows sticking out of them and how it takes so many hours for a deer to die even when a good shot is made. now this friend of mine has never hunted, has family that are all die hard hunters of anything they can hunt, but has never hunted.

it was only a couple comments, and they werent meant to be a bash on hunting, but man, it sure got me going. It just burns me up, with all the information, the statistics, the studies that have been done to support the great benefits of hunting. the millions of dollars every year hunters contribute to support our habitats and parks, all the great things EVERY ONE enjoys because of the money we spend on hunting, and all some people can say is "awwww, those poor deer". I know you all here are familiar with the outcomes of high deer herds, but some people just dont think about that. or think about how tax payers will have to pay for the culling of these herds without hunting. Which, by the way, is HUNTING. Not only that, this particular friend has never once gone hunting. You're going to sit there and try to say you don't like hunting, when you have never even tried it? I challenge anyone to go hunting and not love it! OK, not every one is going to love hunting, but to claim you dont find something worth while when you dont really know anything about it is so naive. And when the topic is hunting, it just gets me going.

The best advice I can give came from an article (I think D&DH) that I saw a few years ago. The article was on how best to deal with non-hunters; the general answer was to leave them alone. You are not going to change any minds by trying to correct their ideas. You are only going to reinforce what they already think. Try to set a good example, but do so quietly.

I have kept trophy pictures in my office for years. Usually the non-hunters give me snide remarks. The idea that I eat what I kill seems to soothe them somewhat. However, there's always one that wants to call me a Bambi-killer. I usually agree with them, and let it go at that. When I offer up the idea that free-ranging immature deer make a tasty and ethical substitute for veal. They usually go back to their cubicle and leave me alone.

Put a tarp over your carcasses. Don't post videos on YouTube showing your headshots and a lot of high-fiving. Especially don't post them with songs like "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" as a music bed. T-Shirts with "Happiness is a Warm Gutpile" should be worn only when around the like-minded.

Well you could find a picture of a deer that starved to death and send that to your friend. Or alot lot of road kill pictures. Then maybe a picture of a hungry poor family thats greatfull to have the meat.

Ask your friend if he's ever hit a squirel or ran over a bug, poor bugs...lol
I love these people that play cards with a half a deck.
How great would things be if people minded ther own business. Worried less about what others are doing and fixed there own problems.

I wish I could have had a video of my first bow-kill many years ago to show these folks.

Up until that time I'd shot many deer with rifle and shotgun, and I knew what a bullet/slug could do when accurately delivered.

My first bow-kill was a small buck, broadside at 22 yards. After the arrow hit him (pass through), he turned to run away from me. As he ran, I was astonished to see blood spraying out the side of his chest 3' to 4'! He ran about 40 yards, and died in mid-stride.

I knew that a razor sharp broadhead was an extremely leathal device, but I was still shocked by SPEED in which it killed.

Shaman and Mag30079 make good points, but for those times when you feel you have to respond, I have had good luck with the following argument. Wild animals generally die for only a few reasons such as roadkill (very painful and agonizing I would imagine), winter starvation (slow and agonizing), illness/infection (again, slow and agonizing), being eaten by a predator (I have seen does taken down by coyotes and I saw firsthand the agony as the coyotes ate the deer alive) and hunting. Just as Woods Walker pointed out so well, a good hunting shot is extremely quick, humane and lethal. If I were a deer, I think I would pick the hunting arrow every time. Great topic for a post Vipermann7.

Good shooting.

Darren Johnson
Internet Pro Staff Member - Indiana

Glad to talk to all of you, but I'd rather be sitting in a tree stand on a cool morning trying not to move so that the bruiser buck directly below me doesn't figure out that I am watching him!

Thanks for all the responses guys. It's pretty ridiculous the amount of information there is about hunting out there, yet some people still have a lot of misconceptions. Fortunately, my friend is simply a non-hunter, not an anti- hunter. I dont mind dealing with non-hunters, they are generally open to at least listening to what you have to say. anti-hunters are usually so close minded that its impossible to get a word in. when i talk to non-hunters, there is a part of me that enjoys getting to enlighten them on the finer points of hunting.

i have a book that has a series of shots of a deer being taken down and eaten by coyotes show them that and see what they say.I love the Fred Bear quote

"Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person." - Fred Bear